I've got a 9 week old pup who is very sound sensitive at the moment. She is a herding breed so i'm not terribly surprised, but whilst in the litter she was quite confident. I'm very concious that this is something i need to work on now, as i had hoped to dog lots with her, as i ompete in agility and flyball and she needs to get used to sounds. At the moment if one of my dogs barks or something bangs whilst she is in the garden she bolts for safety, which is a little worrying. Obviously i intend to do lots of socialisation (but at a pace she can cope with), is there anything else you would reccommend. I have a sounds scary type cd and intend to paly it at low levels (ahtlough last night i found my cd player is broken - typical!) but is there anything else you would reccomend? Shes not terribly foody and so the slightest noise makes her stop eating, and although she loves toys again if something makes a noise she stops immediately.

This is a difficult one as a lot of puppies go through a scared of their own shadows phase. Stay calm, don't tell her off but most importantly don't make a big thing of it. She will take encouragement from the other dogs. The more they act normally the quicker she will learn that everything is fine. Did you breed her, or is she a newcomer to the household? This will make a huge difference. If she is a newcomer then she still has to learn that this is her family.

It is normal for a puppy to bolt when it feels in danger. Barking is an adult dogs way of saying something is wrong (or at least not normal to a nice quiet life ;-) ) Pups will react to this by fleeing to safety. Does she stay hidden or does she come back out after the barking is done?

I also have  herding dogs  of a different breed , which is also a sensative type but not nervous.
I find if I ignore the noise or whatever it is that has disturbed them which could be something as simple as a leaf blowing in the wind... they become more confident in time , 9 wks is early on so I would recommend you get her used to everything around her whilst boosting her confidence keep her on the floor dont pick up when she appears to be worried ignore her behaviour , if you have other dogs she will build her confidence by copying them and you.
I think part of the problem with these breeds is they are so intelligent and notice everything going on around them rather than wandering around with thier head in the clouds oblivious. :)

good Luck

R~

I agree with Starry Eyes-do not make a fuss-by picking up-it is so easy to do-brings out our mother insincts and we want to protect.

I had a dog that came to live with me-she was brought up in a fairly quiet house-no children-just a lady on her own with several dogs-now what she did to this puppy she bred, was at the age of 12 weeks she used to take her round the outdoor/indoor markets-she did have her in her arms-however the puppy must have been over whelmed with all the noise-plus the lady protected her by holding her giving her words of comfort-there by re-in-forcing the pups behaviour.

Now when she came to me at 14 months she was so noise sensitive-the only time she came into her own was on her walks with my other three dogs-and boy what a different dog-always at the head of the pack observing all around her and so brave when she met other dogs-it was a joy to watch her having fun and being herself.

Now I took her to a show-it was indoors-Newark/Notts venue-she just curled up in a ball on the floor-so terrified of the noise-I did not react straight away-I left her until she decided to get up-then took her outside-let her off her lead and once again a different dog.

I then made the decision not to put her through that again-I want her to enjoy her life-no big deal in my books that she does not show-she knows what she wants out of her little life.

Not of us are perfect/we all have our little quirks-mine is washing down my kitchen units whilst I am talking on the phone-rather strange though-wonder what is behind that behaviour ?

Cheers

I took her for a little walk round the block in my arms, (i live in a quiet villiage) and she was ok until a car went past and she tried to jump out of my arms, i think i'm going to have to step back a little and take her to a quiet car park somewhere first. Luckily she is getting bolder in the house, shes was bred and my boyfriends house and is very bold there, but was very sesitive at my house, but she is starting to come out a bit more now, she still runs when the dogs bark, but recovers quickly. I think i'm expecting too much and worrying too much - i'm so desperate for her to be a nice steady dog, but hopefully we will get there.

Hi Lucy,

since she was bred/born by/at your BFs, you should hopefully know the temperament of the dam if not both parents and also the amount of socialising done with the litter.   Are there any clues there?  Were the characters good and level of socialisation appropriate?  It helps to get a better understanding of how to advise if there's more info :)

Teri

Part of socialising our pups was to make sure they were used to all sorts of noises, hoover, washing machine, pots and pans banging, cars, lorries, the angle grinder - not kidding!  OH used to use it on a concrete block while the pups were having dinner in the yard  

Did the pups have this kind of socialisation with your boyf?  If not, then little and often is best ;) 

There are CD's of noises available at Pets At Home too ;)

Thats the strange thing, shes absolutely fine at his house. They have lived in the living room since 2 weeks old and its not a quiet house by any means! I must admit becuase its been so cold they haven't had a lot of outdoor socialisation up until 7 weeks, so i can understand the car thing. She was one of the boldest in the litter at his house. Both parents had wonderful temperaments which is part of the reason we had pups, but the mum has got a sensitive streak and dad didn't, so i was expecting a little sensitivity.
The fear of cars is definately escalating with any exposure (e.g. getting her out the car when i take her to work with me) so i'm going to have to find somewhere where the cars are very slow and far away. 

Supermarket carparks are a great place to expose pups to traffic, as the traffic is very slow moving. I would suggest sitting where cars are driving past you, rather than coming directly towards you as they probably look like big scary monsters approaching a scared pup. Also, there are a great number of shoppers who will stop to say hello to pup, so go armed with plenty of treats, but let pup takes things at her pace and be careful not to over face her. Good luck.

>They have lived in the living room since 2 weeks old

Hmm...  but did they ever go into the bathroom to hear the toilet flush?  into the kitchen when the washing machine was going  - and on spin? into the garden and experience the strange sights and sounds and smells  there ?   Even seeing birds flying over can be really scarey if they've never seen it before ;)

If YOUR house is much quieter than your boyfriend's house, then any noises will be magnified and sound much louder and more scarey

Definitely go to a supermarket car park - there's usually a bench outside to sit on which is really useful.  Take lots of yummy treats so people can give her something she likes, when she's ready.